May Reading

Always with my nose in a book!


Coolidge by Amity Shlaes (library) after Reading Bryson's book about 1927, I wanted to know more about Coolidge
Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist (library) spooky ghost story set in Sweden
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (library audio book) it was interesting because I was listening to this audio book while driving around and then reading Harbor the old fashioned way when I was not driving. Both books had magicians featured.
Dust by Hugh Howey (library) continuation of Wool Series
Hell on Wheels by Dick Kreck (library)  History of the Union Pacific Railroad expansion into the west, I really enjoyed it a lot and learned a lot
Revolution in the Head by Ian McDonald (library) The story of the Beatles songs how and when they were written and composed. Very interesting
Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson (library) another Longmire novel. love these, this one set in Philadelphia, when Sheriff Longmire visits his daughter, reading it out of order cause it was so hard to find and had a huge waiting list at my library
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls This is my Retro read this month...I cried buckets of tears over this book when I was a teenager and yeah, I cried again
How Elizabeth Barret Browning Saved My Life by Mameve Medwed (library)Really enjoyed this one, gonna recommend it to all my friends who like Antique Roadshow!!
A Serpeant's Tooth by Craig Johnson (library) crazy religious cults in Montana and Wyoming, this has been one of my favorites of this series. I really enjoy the evolution of the main characters
Careless People by Sarah Churchwell (library) I really enjoyed this book about the writing of The Great Gatsby
Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke (library) Creepy, about a mother who adopts a child from Russia. And something is not quite right....
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (library) the second in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series
Spirit of Steamboat by Craig Johnson (library) A Christmas story
The Shift Omnibus by Hugh Howey (library) more of the Wool Series...out of order
August Osage County by Tracey Letts (library) loved the movie, so that is what led me to the book, which is the script for the play
Based on the Movie by Billy Taylor. Funny satire about the film business from perspective of a grip


Only 17 books read this month.   I blame my 6 days in Dallas in Training with American Airlines. I had no time for reading!! Very frustrating!! :-)

Monday's Postcard 2014: San Antonio, TX

I've had several friends and family members visit San Antonio and send me postcards

Monday's Postcard 2014: More places I have NEVER been!

I have some great friends who got to go to some neat places in Tubingen, Germany and Vienna, Austria...hopefully one day I will follow in their footsteps

Monday's Postcard 2014: Postcards from Mom

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day yesterday and here are some postcards from my Mom when she would travel the world.

Venice and New Orleans!!

Monday's Postcard 2014: From Ryan along the PCT

Ryan sent me both of these postcards when he made his trek of the Pacific Crest trail in 2010

April Reading

Meeting an idol, this is Mildred Wirt Benson, the author of many Nancy Drew Books and a newspaper reporter well into her 80's, in fact, she was still working at the Toledo Blade until the day she died.


The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie a Miss Marple mystery and fun to read again, I had forgotten who done it!
The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek (library) yuck, hated it...maybe it was the translation, but I found it disjointed and I just did not get it. Can't believe she won a Nobel Prize for Literature
Murder in The Marketplace by Lora Roberts I really enjoyed this mystery series about a lady who is basically homeless and lives in her VW Bus. Things evolve thru the books, so they are best read in order of publication
Murder Mile High by Lora Roberts  The protagonist goes home again (and you know "you can't go home again!!" LOL)
Wool by Hugh Howey (library) Loved it and will be reading more by this author
No Man's Nightingale by Ruth Rendell  (library) Inspector Wexford, retired but still solving mysteries
Junkyard Dogs by Craig Johnson (library) enjoyed this one
Frog Music by Emma Donahue (library) I liked Room better, although it did have some nice 1800's SFO imagery
Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus (library) continuing to read this author
Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer by John Grisham (audiobook) listened to while traveling to meet Ryan on the Arizona Trail
Agatha Christie An Autobiography  This is my flashback book this month. I did a research paper on this book and Ms. Christie back in High School and I read this book many many times.
From Scratch: Inside the Food Network by Allen Salkin (library) The story of how the food network came to be and turned chefs into rock stars
Foggy Mountain Breakdown by Sharyn McCrumb (audiobook) a collection of short stories very much enjoyed
Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie an ebook...had to read it cause I had nothing else in my suitcase!! Ack but always enjoyable.
Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson (library) reminded me of Tony Hillerman books, lots of Native American stuff in this one
Kindred by Octavia Butler (library) time travel....a black woman from 1976 travels to 1815 with slavery and everything, very good
As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (library) Still enjoying these...it is weird that I cannot find them at most used book stores. I have had to rely on library copies only
Tampa by Alissa Nutting (library) ripped from the headlines about a teacher seducing her 14 year old students very explicit.
The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth Silver  (library) I am not a huge fan of courtroom/death row type stories I can barely stand Grisham....so if you like that kind of thing, you might like this better than I did
The Remarkable Millard Fillmore by George Pendle  I got this at a used book store thinking it was a serious biography. Instead it is a comedic fictional story. Very silly
Above Suspicion by Helen MacInness (library) another WWII spy novel written in 1941!! And I quite enjoyed it. She is a forgotten gem
The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough okay, this one was real history and I enjoyed it I generally like all of McCullough's books I have read so far

22 books